Rogers Responds to Telus and Bell: “We Won’t Stop Giving Hockey Fans More”

Rogers has taken to its Redboard to comment on Bell and Telus complaining to the CRTC alleging the former’s NHL GamePlus features violate the regulator’s rules. The company says they “won’t stop giving hockey fans more.”

Here’s what Rogers had to say, noting the Bell and Telus “complaint makes no sense, especially when this is exactly what CRTC rules allow”:

They’re claiming fewer fans have access to games, but the facts are clear: fans can watch more games than ever before, both on air and on Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE™, no matter who their service provider is. All consumers have access to this programming, which is produced primarily for conventional TV. Everyone sees the same camera angles and the same replays, chosen by the production crew.

Rogers goes on to say GamePlus doesn’t offer exclusive access to games, but rather is an interactive feature. Again, the carrier reiterates Bell bid on the same NHL rights but lost (zing; just short of calling Bell a ‘crybaby’ again), while saying Telus wants to change the rules to let them stream exclusive content only to their customers, and not Rogers.

Holy cow–can’t we all just get along, like how smartphone pricing is nice and uniform in Canada?

While Rogers says it has expanded its NHL presence coast-to-coast, a recent Angus Reid poll suggested Canadian Hockey Night in Canada fans are upset with the choice to drop Ron MacLean as host in favour of George Stroumboulopoulos.